Santa Claus

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LaSainte

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Another thread that postulates that it is ALWAYS a sin to lie got me thinking. Is there anyone out there who actually thinks it is a sin to tell kids that Santa will come to their house, guided by magical reindeer with a sleigh full of toys made by tiny elves, squeeze down the chimeny and give them the loot? Anyone?

And if it IS a sin, why does the Church not condemn this practice? On the contrary, MANY Catholic parishes promote it.

And don’t say that St. Nick was a real person so it’s not a lie, because we all know that we go to VERY elaborate lengths to deceive our children each and every year, on Christmas Day no less!

I for one do not think it is sinful, but if it is not sinful, than not ALL lies are sinful, correct?
 
Now some can judge the question of SC differently…but I provide the above as an explanation of how those who tell of SC can understand what they are doing.
 
DaddyGirl said:
Right. After dozens of Harry Potter threads in which people say giving the books to children is sinful because of the “magic” involved…promoting a Santa who knows when you are bad or good (a false God?) and has “magical” reindeer sounds even worse.
At least with Harry Potter, the kids know it’s fiction.
But parents tell kids this Santa dude is REAL!
And then they are set up for the fall…
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He is real. God is real. Angels are real. Saints are real. He is real. We exaggerate for kids and Holiday fun, but he is real. What do you want this year? Let’s give it a whirl. You could be surprised…
 
Does anyone find it ironic that the saint that rewards children for good behavior got his title as bishop revoked for punching a heretic in the face at Nicea? 🤷
 
For all of you people who want to deprive children of the harmless myth of Santa Claus, you rank with the Puritan Pilgrims and other Protestants in America who did not celebrate Christmas until Prince Albert of England made it and Christmas trees popular in England and the US.
In view of that, you deserve coal in your stockings this Christmas! Santa will not forget!!!:😃
 
teenphilo1 said:
Does anyone find it ironic that the saint that rewards children for good behavior got his title as bishop revoked for punching a heretic in the face at Nicea? 🤷
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My patron Saint. 👍

And yes, there is absolutely a view that it’s wrong to tell children there’s a Santa Claus. Once again, Dr. Feser holds this view, and he wrote an article, called “There is no Santa Clause”, about it here: edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2010/11/there-is-no-santa-clause.html . give him credit for consistency.

As it is, I actually agree. Don’t get me wrong, I love the whole Santa mythology. But that’s what it is-a mythology. Santa’s not real.

If I ever have kids I’ll them that Saint Nicholas brings gifts to children every year around Christmas time. That is no lie. 👍
 
George_Stegmeir said:
For all of you people who want to deprive children of the harmless myth of Santa Claus, you rank with the Puritan Pilgrims and other Protestants in America who did not celebrate Christmas until Prince Albert of England made it and Christmas trees popular in England and the US.
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You’re comparing not telling children that a fictional character is real to ignoring the commemoration of the birth of God?
 
What I find the most depressing here at CAF is those people who, while trying to live a Catholic life, will extinguish the slightest joys in life for fear of doing something wrong.

Does anyone honestly think that they will one day stand in judgement to God Almighty for telling their little ones about Santa or the Easter Bunny, or seeing the joy and amazement in their eyes on Christmas and Easter morn? I pity the poor child whose parents treat them as an adult instead of a child. Do I need to go to confession for telling my little 5 year old great niece that I saw my sister’s dog Bob riding a bicycle down the street? Or telling my little 2.5 year old great nephew the little stories that he seems to enjoy so much? Is joy de vivre a sin? One of the biggest complaints here about the laity is that they/we don’t know our faith. When I read that someone thinks it a sin to tell children about Santa, then I have to agree that we don’t know our faith.
 
LaSainte said:
Another thread that postulates that it is ALWAYS a sin to lie got me thinking. Is there anyone out there who actually thinks it is a sin to tell kids that Santa will come to their house, guided by magical reindeer with a sleigh full of toys made by tiny elves, squeeze down the chimeny and give them the loot? Anyone?
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Not me. 🙂

I don’t consider it a lie. Children have wild imaginations. In fact, my youngest daughter is in a class by herself when it comes to that. We also do “Elf on a Shelf.” 🙂

It’s simply playing into the child’s imagination, which is usually running rampant anyway. It’s no different than the playing with a child while you or they are pretending to be something/someone else.
 
teenphilo1 said:
Does anyone find it ironic that the saint that rewards children for good behavior got his title as bishop revoked for punching a heretic in the face at Nicea? 🤷
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Na. That makes me like him even more.
 
Not only is telling children that Santa Claus is real (not the saint, but the mythiological person based on him) wrong because it’s a lie, but also because it’s a superstition. If we as Catholics are not suppossed to believe in superstitions, why should we teach them to our children?
 
Timothysis said:
What I find the most depressing here at CAF is those people who, while trying to live a Catholic life, will extinguish the slightest joys in life for fear of doing something wrong.

Does anyone honestly think that they will one day stand in judgement to God Almighty for telling their little ones about Santa or the Easter Bunny, or seeing the joy and amazement in their eyes on Christmas and Easter morn? I pity the poor child whose parents treat them as an adult instead of a child. Do I need to go to confession for telling my little 5 year old great niece that I saw my sister’s dog Bob riding a bicycle down the street? Or telling my little 2.5 year old great nephew the little stories that he seems to enjoy so much? Is joy de vivre a sin? One of the biggest complaints here about the laity is that they/we don’t know our faith. When I read that someone thinks it a sin to tell children about Santa, then I have to agree that we don’t know our faith.
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I agree with you. It seems every little thing has to be neurotically sifted through the : sin or no sin? If lying is intrinsically evil (as in there is no redeeming it, ever) then telling young children that they’re getting their gifts from Santa must be called something else. Or telling a nazi officer that there are no Jews in your house when in reality there is an entire family hiding in your cellar.
 
bitznbitez said:
Na. That makes me like him even more.
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I know!!! It’s so awesome!!! That why I’m using all the exclamation marks!!! Awesomeness!!!"

The best part:
Mary and Jesus came to him in his cell afterwards and personally re-instated him. 😃
 
Marc_Anthony said:
Dr. Feser holds this view, and he wrote an article, called “There is no Santa Clause”, :
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I maintain that Dr. Feser, with all of his knowledge and cleverness, does not even readily understand exactly what constitutes a lie. A “lie” is usually told to evade responsibility, to gain an unfair advantage or to take advantage of a situation for personal gain. It is not a “lie” to tell a young one that their performance on the piano was “beautiful” when it really wasn’t, or to tell someone that, yes, you think their new dress is pretty when deep down inside it really doesn’t do anything for you.

When I was young I remember, on Christmas Eve, my dad having the radio on and the d.j. stating that the radar center called and said that they had Santa on the radar heading to our town. I remember the joy of my sisters, my brother and myself, too. Why did my parents do this and why did they spend money on the gifts from Santa? Because they loved us. Were my parents liars? It takes more than untrue words to make a lie. It is a pity to me that anyone could confuse love with the sin of lying.

FWIW, if you really want to delve into the topic you will find that there is a myriad of opinions by doctors and saints of the Church that do not agree on whether it is permissible to speak an untruth. Had they been around to witness the horrors of the 20th century I think they would probably have reached a consensus.
 
Robertanthony said:
I agree with you. It seems every little thing has to be neurotically sifted through the : sin or no sin? If lying is intrinsically evil (as in there is no redeeming it, ever) then telling young children that they’re getting their gifts from Santa must be called something else. Or telling a nazi officer that there are no Jews in your house when in reality there is an entire family hiding in your cellar.
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Excellent points. How can something be an intrinsic evil when it impedes an act of injustice? Is it better that we “tell the truth” and let the injustice of murder be perpetrated upon the Jews? What would you think of the following conversation;

“The gestapo asked, so I told them that there were Jews hiding in the attic.”

“What happened to them?”

“They killed them all. But thank God I didn’t sin by telling a lie.”
 
ChibiViolet said:
Not only is telling children that Santa Claus is real (not the saint, but the mythiological person based on him) wrong because it’s a lie, but also because it’s a superstition. If we as Catholics are not suppossed to believe in superstitions, why should we teach them to our children?
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In your opinion it is a lie or a myth or a superstition.

Matthew 17
20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

If you believe in God, the Angels and Saints, you can believe in Santa Claus… of course we exaggerate for kids and Holiday fun (which is not bad), not being silly or facetious, seriously, I believe.
 
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